Fine tune outreach to internationals, say multicultural leaders

By Mike Creswell

BSC Communications

Richard Contreras, associate pastor of Iglesia Bautista de Hickory Grove, Charlotte, speaks during a small group discussion at the 2008 Multicultural Youth Leader's Summit, sponsored by the Baptist State Convention, March 7 and 8 at Hollifield Leadership Center.

Photo by Mike Creswell

Baptist State Convention

CONOVER - Baptists need to become more sensitive, fine tune their outreach methods and do more to reach Hispanics, Asians and other newcomers flooding into the state.

The Bible leaves no options to do otherwise, Ken Tan told 35 youth workers in March for a Multicultural Youth Leadership Summit at Hollifield Leadership Center. Tan, a native of the Philippines, was joined by Guillermo Soriano, Baptist State Convention (BSC) consultant on multicultural evangelism who is a native of Honduras; and Sei Hun Kim, who escaped from North Korea years ago and eventually made his way to the United States after becoming a Christian in Hong Kong.

The very presence of such foreign-born leaders on the convention staff underlines the long-term commitment of the BSC to better train Baptists to evangelize immigrants more effectively, Tan said.

Tan reviewed the Bible's teaching about God's interest in reaching all the earth's people groups from the earliest days described in Genesis 12 when God dealt with Abraham, and then through the early church as described in Acts.

Learn to look at newcomers with sensitivity to become friends and witness effectively, Tan said. For instance, the children of first-generation newcomers are likely to be more Americanized than their parents.

"My own kids have grown up here in America. They want to eat hamburgers and hot dogs like the kids here. They don't really like Filipino foods," he said.

But often third generation immigrants go looking for their cultural roots since they sometimes do not feel completely Americanized or sense racist attitudes against them.

"Dealing with other cultures is complicated. It's not simple," Tan said.

Today about 4.4 percent of the U.S. population is Asian but that is expected to climb significantly by 2050, he said.

Many Americans assume all immigrants are poor, but Asians have a median annual income of $61,000, more than any other group - and almost half of them are college graduates. Two-thirds of Asians speak English well. But 56 percent of them are unchurched, Tan said.

The conference also included discussions of several cultural groups. Emily Locklear talked about Lumbee Indian culture. For example, family relationships are important to Lumbees, she said. A visitor who can tell how he or she is related to others in the family will be more quickly accepted, said Locklear, a member of Bear Swamp Baptist Church in Pembroke.

African Americans put slavery behind them years ago but at least during those hard times they stayed closer to the church and their families, said Mashonda Surratt, a member of Hoppers Chapel Baptist Church in Shelby. These days African Americans are focused on material things and showing off what they have, she said; there's more concern over losing a cell phone than being separated from families.

Whites make up about 70 percent of North Carolina's population, but Joe Sinclair presented an overview of "Anglo people" as though they were a people group. Sinclair is youth minister at Aversboro Road Baptist Church, Garner. He reviewed the many divisions within the Anglo population, such as Irish Americans, German Americans or European Americans. Anglos live primarily in single-family homes and 68 percent of Anglo children live with both biological parents, he said.

Anglos fear racial integration, he said. It's not that they fear change per se, but rather that they fear change they did not initiate, Sinclair said.

Richard Contreras won laughs as he said, "Latinos love music and we love to eat. You have food and music, and we'll be there," he said. Many Latinos have Catholic backgrounds, he said, so Baptists will burn bridges of friendships if they dwell on criticizing the Pope or speak negatively of the Virgin Mary. Contreras is associate pastor of the Iglesia Bautista de Hickory Grove in Charlotte, a Latino church associated with Hickory Grove Baptist Church.

Manny Mintac stressed that Baptists must be intentional and inclusive as they reach out to multicultural people. "Our Christ-like way should be so natural that people know we are real and not fake. Love is the evidence that we have Christ in us," said Mintac, who serves as youth leader at Island Grove Baptist Church in Pembroke and also for Burnt Swamp Baptist Association.

"We must be clear about our message and focus; it is about the kingdom of God, not ours," he said.

Conference participants called for more such multicultural conferences across the state and suggested churches, which have developed cultural sensitivity, could work with public schools to make teachers more aware of cultures in communities. People also share basic needs regardless of culture: they all need love, acceptance and respect, enjoy music, food and good stories. And they all need Jesus Christ in their lives, said Mintac as he talked about the "Jesus link," the summit theme.

"We are so thankful that the Cooperative Program giving of the churches is helping us figure out how to best reach multiculturals for Christ," he said.